“Yeah…” Esme shrugged. “Body coordination, bad. Hand-eye coordination, good. I’m a whiz at Tetris.”
That’s at least true.
Ada held up a hand. “Moving on.” With a sweep of her arm, she opened the spindlox cage from Esme’s first test.
Esme yelped and jumped away as the creature scuttled out of the cage.
Shit! Ada removed the barrio when I wasn’t looking!
The spindlox was not happy and shrieked anew. Esme hated that noise more than anything. In an angry rush, she waved her hand at the spindlox in a rapid “goodbye” motion, which made rippling shock waves that shot toward the spider-demon. It forgot about shrieking and hunched to hold its ground. Esme stopped waving, and the second she did the spindlox launched into the air at her. She tapped another keypad-like sequence and swept her arm, and the creature went flying into the wall between other cages. It broke a few legs on impact but flopped over and scuttled behind a cage.
You’re not hiding from me, you little bastard.
Esme focused on where she still saw one of its legs. Reaching forward, she made a clenching motion, curled her index finger, and whipped her arm around to the open front end of its original cage. The spindlox let out another terrible shriek and flew through the air in the direction she’d aimed, straight back into its cage. It slammed into the back wall, emanating a poof of flaky smoke. Before it could run out again, Esme was already there. She grabbed the cage door and slammed it locked. Quickly aiming her castorca at the floor, she drew the barrio symbol in half the time of her first one.
Esme stepped back, panting, and bent over to rest her hands on her knees.
Ada came to stand beside her. “Clean this mess. When you’re finished, head home for the day.”
Esme stood straight and brushed hair from her face. “Why? What did I do wrong?”
Ada snorted a laugh. “Nothing. You did absolutely nothing wrong.” She looked at Esme like she was trying to figure something out, shook her head, and walked toward the exit. “And when you’re done, leave your castorca in the box…for now.”
Esme looked at the box sitting on a table by the computer equipment.
“Be here first thing in the morning,” Ada called from the door. “We have much to teach you yet before your Order trial tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“Yes, Esme. You’re ready. Roman won’t believe you’re ready after one day, but from what I just saw… I’ll convince him you’re ready for your final test.”
Esme smiled. Then she looked at the crustacox mess.
This was it. By the end of the night, the alterni would either fail or become a full-fledged member of the Order.
Anxious, Hakim stood beside the king and other spectators on the sidelines of the windowless trial chamber that ran parallel to the magic lab. The overhead lights lit up the whole space, though the main attraction lay in the center of the room. Here, Roman had prepared randomly placed, smoke-filled malevolenci cages.
They’re so horrid, thought Hakim as his eyes moved from cage to cage. I understand why Roman keeps malevolenci in the Capiti, but isn’t it asking for trouble? We are, after all, in the heart of downtown.
He looked around the walls. Illuso and barrio symbols covered the Capiti’s training levels. At least these spells kept the malevolenci trapped and undetectable from the outside world. They hid cavali weapons training too. That was obviously good, but Hakim had always felt the Order’s magic training was the more dangerous part of their program.
He lifted his gaze to a memorable burn mark on the high ceiling.
I’ve witnessed more than one trial where novices’ spells went wrong.
Today, however, the room was free of young conjuri. Only the white-robed elders stood on either side of Hakim and Owen. The king always took these trials seriously, and he wore his black cavali uniform, minus the helmet. Hakim and Owen hadn’t spoken much since arriving, but the somber conjuri standing with them talked amongst themselves while waiting for the trial to begin. A few, Hakim noticed, eyed the woman they were all here to watch.
Esme stood in the middle of the chamber, in front of Roman and Ada, listening to final instructions. The alterni probably hadn’t known how many conjuri would turn out for the event, and her gray head kept turning to glance at the audience. She wore the black undershirt, combat pants, and boots of the cavali. She didn’t look comfortable in the attire.
She better get used to it. If she passes this trial, she’ll ride to battle every night for the foreseeable future…
Hakim noticed Owen watching Esme.
Our hopes are high. So are our nerves. Esme’s only been here a little over a month, which to my recollection is less training than any alterni before her. Owen’s not happy about that… But Ada says she’s ready.
Hakim tried to distract his friend as they continued to wait. Leaning toward Owen, he said, “I have a confession. This Esme is my favorite.”
Owen was noncommittal, his thoughts elsewhere. “Hmm.”
“She’s funny.”
“Is humor going to keep her alive?”
Hakim ignored this. “She’s a hottie.”
“Like you care.”
“Well, not for myself. But she’s definitely your type.”
Owen turned with an appalled face.
Hakim rolled his eyes. “Not because she’s an Esme. I mean, she’s your type because she’s unique, in her own artsy way. She’s smart. Compassionate. And she’s got balls.”
“Now whose type are we discussing?”
Hakim shrugged. “I’m just saying, you’ve got an amazing woman in front of you. Maybe this partnership is exactly what you need.”
The king was silent, a familiar scowl on his face.
“Owen, listen. I know after that blind date I promised never to set you up again, but-”
“And don’t forget your brilliant fix-up with Lexi. Workplace romances are one thing, but that…” Owen snorted a loud, annoyed laugh.
Upon hearing this outburst, the pureblood elf beside them looked at Owen. The king smiled and bowed his head before giving Hakim a look. Then he returned to watching Esme.
Hakim made a face. “I admit, Lexi wasn’t my best fix-up. Fortunately, I hear she’s moved on.”
“Here’s hoping. But from now on, please remember you’re a fairy, not Cupid.”
“Must you be insulting? You know full well my alt-world ancestor was jinn, not fairy.”
“Either way, you ain’t Cupid. Stay out of my love life. I can get dates on my own.”
Now Hakim snorted a laugh. “Oh, really?”
“Have you forgotten high school? Or college? Hundreds of women wanted to date me.”
Hakim made a doubtful face and a squeaking sound. “I’ll give you dozens, but hundreds?”
“Hundreds.” Owen turned to put on a full show of manly overconfidence. “I could walk into any bar in Kansas City and leave with the most beautiful woman there.” He winked. “Being the chief of police makes me a catch, you know. You’d be amazed how well that uniform works.”
“Yes, I would be.”
Owen scowled, then cheered up as he remembered something and snapped his fingers. “And I’m a king. King. Hundreds of women in the Order would kill to be with me.”
“Again with this hundreds thing. I think your royal lordship is overshooting-”
“But no, I need your help,” Owen joked. He tugged at Hakim’s ever-perfect tie. “I’m supposed to listen to you and fall for Esme, a woman you claim has balls.”
Hakim caught movement behind Owen and tilted his head to see around his friend. There stood Esme, her arms crossed, glaring at the back of Owen’s head. Hakim froze and looked wide-eyed at Owen.
Owen saw this reaction and hung his head. “How much do you think she heard?”
Hakim glanced at Esme. “Judging by her expression, I’d say at least the part about her having balls.”
Owen chuckled a nervous laugh and turned to face E
sme. “Hey, how’s it going?”
Esme glared at them like they were idiots.
“Oh!” Hakim reached in his coat pocket. “I brought you something for luck.” He found what he was searching for and pulled out a spoon.
Esme’s face worked very hard not to laugh, and she instead turned to Owen. “My lord, Roman wants you to join us. He says it’s traditional for you to put my castorca on for the trial.”
“Yes, of course. Lead the way.” Owen followed her as she turned.
“Good luck, Esme!” Hakim held the spoon like a thumbs up.
The elf conjuri glared at him in annoyance.
Tough crowd.
Hakim returned the spoon to his pocket and looked to the center of the chamber. Esme was bowing to Roman and Ada, and the trial was about to commence.
Go get ’em, Esme.
Owen clicked her bracelet secure last. The castorca in place, Esme pulled her hand back and tried not to meet the king’s eyes.
Damn it, Hakim! I don’t need distractions right now! Why were they talking about me like that?
Behind her, Roman prompted, “It’s time to begin.”
Esme glanced back. The Master Conjuri and Ada held their hands folded in front of them. If anything went wrong, Ada promised they’d jump in before anyone got killed. But if they had to step in, Esme would fail her trial. That’d mean weeks or months more of training.
She took a breath. Her stomach was in knots. Her casting hand shook, which felt odd with the castorca’s chains brushing her skin. Without thinking, she glanced over at the line of white-robed conjuri, who stood eerily still as they stared back at her.
I hate being the center of attention on the best of days. And now there’s magic involved…
“Hey,” whispered Owen. He waited until she looked up at him. “Are you sure you don’t want a weapon?”
“You’ve seen me shoot. There are too many innocent bystanders.” Esme gulped and lifted the hand wearing her castorca. “Besides, this is my weapon, right?” She lowered her hand again, realizing her bravado wasn’t convincing since her hand was shaking.
“Don’t be nervous. You got this.”
She made a face and mimicked his deep voice. “You got this.” She shook a strand of gray hair out of her eyes and hissed, “That’s the least kingly advice anyone’s ever given! If I can’t do this-”
“You can,” he said with practiced calm. “I am the king, and I believe in you. I’ll stay right here the whole time. If you start to freak out, look at me for support. When you succeed, you’ll be an official member of the Order. You won’t have to train like Roman’s magical little slave. The cavali won’t treat you like a novice. The conjuri will respect you. You and I can finally start our work.”
Esme took a breath and shook the jitters from her legs.
“Just treat this as a training session,” said Owen. “That’s all this is. One more training run before you’re official. And then, Esme…” He put a hand on her shoulder and looked in her eyes. “Then I will buy you a car.”
A chuckle escaped before Esme could catch it, and she nodded back at him. Owen stepped to the side, and she faced the smoky malevolenci cages in front of her. The room was quiet.
Esme stretched her fingers and concentrated to pull magic through her castorca. She felt the vibrations and held her hand ready as she approached the nearest cage. To her surprise, the cage’s barrio was already gone. She looked around at the other cages and discovered every barrio symbol had been removed.
What? How did Ada erase them without me seeing-
The shrieking of spindlox broke the stillness. Esme gritted her teeth and ran around the nearest cage. It was open. The black smoke hid anything inside, but she raised her castorca and twisted her hand to create a whirlwind in the cage. Smoke spun with her hand movement until it dissipated and left only an exposed spindlox flying around in the wind. The beast shrieked, its crab claws clacking as it tried to fight back.
Another shriek pierced the air. Esme turned just in time to see a spindlox scuttle straight for her. She flicked her wrist so the spindlox in her whirlwind slammed into the side of its cage. Esme immediately swung around toward the second spindlox and raised her other arm to stop it from jumping onto her face. The demon slammed into her arm with almost enough momentum to stick its stinger in her throat, but Esme shoved it back. With her castorca hand, she rubbed her thumb across her fingertips. The spindlox was mid fall when its legs snapped at odd angles, and Esme punted the demon into a cage’s glass side.
The first spindlox had recovered and charged from the cage again. She held her palm out and tapped her fingers, sending a freezing blast to cover the spindlox in ice. Without waiting to see if it would recover, she clenched her fingers, curled her index finger, and whipped her arm to throw the frozen demon at its counterpart. The demons’ bodies collided, and the icy spindlox broke into pieces that pierced the other beast.
A crustacox bellow and the clatter of charging feet echoed around the chamber, but Esme couldn’t see where the demons were attacking from. This mystery lasted only a second before three of the rock-hard demons swung around a cage to her left. The third crustacox knocked the cage over, which resulted in a shattering crash, and ashy smoke spilled out and flaked on the floor.
What was in the cage? she thought fleetingly. Did a demon get out while I was- Oh, shit!
The herd monsters turned as one and charged. One unfurled its tentacles and snagged Esme’s leg before she could react. It yanked hard, and she fell to the floor. The tentacle’s suckers clamped onto her pant leg and pulled, but she ignored this as another crustacox stretched a tentacle toward her head.
My eyes! These things love to suck out our eyes!
While being reeled in by the first crustacox, Esme reached out with her castorca toward the second monster. She lifted her index finger and pointed with jabs again and again until a shock of lightning shot out. The lightning caught the approaching tentacle, and this crustacox bellowed and whipped its tentacle away in alarm.
The third crustacox growled, which was a terrifying sound, and charged her. She thought back to the magic lab and repeated the twisting and thrusting motion, knocking the charging beast off its feet.
The tentacle around her leg had pulled her to the first demon’s mouth. Esme used all her strength to spin on the floor, and she found herself eye to beady eye with the crustacox head under its exoskeletal shield.
“Eat me.”
Esme put her castorca-wearing palm right in its face and tapped her fingers, shooting ice pellets into its eyes and fleshy skin. The crustacox discharged one more bellow before freezing solid, the ice spreading from its face to fill the exoskeleton’s insides. It let go of her leg, and Esme rolled free before it fell over.
Somewhere above, wings flapped. Esme looked up to see a chiroptorx diving straight for her. She threw herself forward, and the chiroptorx scraped its giant beak into the floor. Esme scrambled to her feet and turned, waving her hand at the oversized bat. It tried to ascend, but the shock waves shoved it against a cage and held it pinned.
Three more chiroptorx flapped overhead, preparing their attack. Esme turned her waving motion to a twisting one, creating a whirlwind around her first chiroptorx. She widened the motion of her arm, expanding the whirlwind until it sucked in the other three flying demons. She kept this up and raised the whirlwind higher and higher until the tumbling chiroptorx bumped the ceiling. Her arm tiring, Esme stopped twisting, opened her palm wide, and flipped it to slam the dazed chiroptorx into the floor.
A roar shook the chamber.
Oh, shit.
From inside a large, smoking cage, a felicox emerged. As it stalked toward her, the muscles under its blood-red fur rippled. Enormous fangs hung from its mouth. With each breath from the demon, these fangs glowed red-hot. It roared again as its giant paws picked up speed.
This wasn’t a malevolenci she’d practiced with. Esme knew from reading that hand spells were less effective against t
he bigger malevolenci species, and she wouldn’t last long if she tried to outrun the thing.
Esme crouched to the floor. Too afraid to focus, she didn’t even try to use magic to steady her hand. Instead, she touched her fingers to the floor and drew freehand. Her castorca channeled magic through her fingers and burned magic into the floor as she drew. She drew with desperate speed, but the burn was solid and her design perfect. The symbol flared with sparks, and Esme hurried to back away.
The felicox was within pouncing distance. It was so close that Esme saw its muscles flex to spring at her. At the same moment it leapt into the air, Esme threw three bubbles of magic at the barrio symbol she’d drawn. The magical light crackled into the symbol, and a rippling wave spread up and over the felicox, touching down behind it.
The demon slammed into the invisible barrier a foot from Esme. With a snarling, inaudible roar, the big cat crouched on the floor. Trapped, it cowered and circled within the magical confines. Smoke wafted off the felicox as it roared in anger, but it knew better than to touch the barrier again.
“Yes!” Someone started clapping.
Esme gulped air and turned to see Hakim cheering where he stood with the conjuri. To her surprise, the conjuri also clapped. All were smiling at her. Several of the white-robed lot shook hands, though what they’d accomplished Esme sure as hell didn’t know. Hakim held up the spoon high overhead in salute.
She allowed herself a laugh before walking back to Roman and Ada, the latter of whom smiled at Esme with pride. But it was Owen who walked over to Esme first and grabbed her in a congratulatory hug. He lifted her off her feet and let out an overdramatic sigh of relief before setting her down again.
Esme noticed Roman studying her with a confused frown on his face, but she ignored him and smiled at Owen. “That earn me a car, your royal lordship?”
His grin was huge. “Hell, yeah! I’ll buy you-”
Esme didn’t hear how he finished. She felt suddenly like gravity had lost its hold of her. As she tried to steady herself, a wave of gravity pulled from her right. Esme tottered before stepping to catch herself. Then, as suddenly as it came, the sensation disappeared, and she regained her equilibrium.
Alterni Page 12